ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

Countries In the country statistics, team and individual performances in the Intercontinental Shield are listed only if they are equal to or better than those in the Intercontinental Cup. AFGHANISTAN Played Won Drawn Lost Won on first inns Lost on first inns 7 6 1 0 0 Highest team total 494-4 v Canada Sharjah 2010 Lowest team total 107 v Netherlands Amstelveen 2009 Highest individual total 214* Mohammad Shahzad v Canada Sharjah 2010 Best bowling analysis 6-40 Hamid Hassan v Scotland Ayr 2010 Best wicketkeeping 3 c, 1 st Mohammad Shahzad v Ireland Dambulla 2010 4 c Mohammad Shahzad v Scotland Ayr 2010 4 c Mohammad Shahzad v Scotland Dubai 2010 Afghanistan continued their remarkable performance in which they rose from playing in World Cricket League Division 5 in May 2008, to qualifying for World Cricket League Division 1, and gaining one-day international status in April 2009, by winning the Intercontinental Cup at the first attempt. Considering that the country did not play a representative match at any level before 2001, this was an almost unbelievable achievement. Winning the competition made up to some extent for their disappointment in not qualifying for the 2011 World Cup. Their success also silenced critics who suggested that their style of play would not be suitable to four-day cricket, since all their experience thus far had been in 50-over one-day contests and twenty20. That they went through the competition unbeaten was outstanding particularly as it looked almost certain they would lose to Canada, only to make 494 for four in the fourth innings to win the match. Afghanistan’s impressive record is due to a large extent to the pace bowling of Hamid Hassan, who clearly benefited from his summer in England with the MCC Young Cricketers in 2007. In only six matches, he took 43 wickets, five or more wickets in an innings five times, and ten or more wickets in a match twice. His strike record was 33.65 and his average a mere 19.18. He was particularly effective as first- or second-change, bowling with the old ball to remove the opposition’s middle and lower order. He was well supported by fellow pacemen, Shapoor Zadran and Mirwais Ashraf, off spinner, Mohammad Nabi, and the leg spin of Samiullah Shenwari, a combination which made for a strong all-round attack. Nevertheless, the importance of Hamid Hassan was shown when he was absent through injury from a number of one-day internationals in 2010 and Afghanistan struggled to bowl their opponents out or to contain the flow of runs. The batting owed much to the consistency and high-scoring ability of Mohammad Shahzad whose 802 runs in the competition came at a strike rate of 78.78. Afghanistan’s strength was that they batted down the order so that should their main batsmen fail, they were able to be rescued by the likes of Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shenwari, both of whom made centuries. Other batsmen to impress were Noor Ali and Nawroz Mangal. Mohammad Shahzad was also a reliable wicketkeeper, whose record of 28 victims in seven matches reflected both his competence and the ability of the bowlers in inducing the opposing batsmen to give chances. The test for Afghanistan will be whether they can maintain or even improve on this standard by producing new, young players of the same or greater ability. This will require a good structure to be established for domestic cricket which, given the political and security situation in the country, will not be easy. Nevertheless, despite the problems, a domestic competition has been inaugurated. What is perhaps surprising is that more interest has not been shown in Afghanistan’s 269